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Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, to Jane (née Denmark) and Thomas Griffiths. His father was a steelworker who also fought in pubs for money, while his mother's occupation was described as "bagger".[3][4] He and his brother John were raised in the Roman Catholic faith.[1][5]

His parents were both deaf, and he learned sign language at an early age in order to communicate with them. During his childhood he attempted to run away from home many times. He dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-On-Tees at the age of 15 [6] and worked as a porter for Littlewoods for a while, but his boss eventually persuaded him to go back to school. He decided to attend a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College.[6] He continued his education in drama at Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (present-day Manchester School of Theatre).[7]

In 2005 he asked a member of the audience to leave a performance of Heroes after her phone rang three times.[26] This interruption of a performance because of audience distraction happened three times in his career.[27]